Jessica Kahawaty with Shaikha Noora, bint Khalifa Al Khalifa, surrounded by the the Tawjihi students at the Village 2 School in Azraq. Image Supplied

Lebanese-Australian model and influencer Jessica Kahawaty is in Jordan visiting refugee camps off the border of Syria along with UNICEF. This is her third humanitarian mission as a part of which she aims to raise awareness about the situation of the families displaced by the war.

Image Supplied

Visiting the Al-Azraq refugee camp, Kahawaty shared with Vogue.me that she wore a headscarf in respect of all the women and families at the shelters. “I think it’s important to respect the local culture and they were so kind when they knew I wasn’t Muslim but chose to cover as I went through the camp.”

Image Supplied

Kahawaty has always been a supporter of humanitarian causes and charities like UNICEF and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and feels deeply about their plight. “The devastation the Syrian refugees have experienced is evident through the stories I heard in the camps. They were among the last wave of people leaving from areas like Aleppo and Homs. Most spent months on the border before being able to enter Jordan that some kids I met were even born on there or in the camps,” she said of her experience.

Image Supplied

During her time there, she visited the Village 2 School in Azraq to meet with the kids and work on social innovation projects with them. “This is the first time ever kids in the camp are presenting innovation projects. To see what they’ve come up with already in such an arid place, then imagine what they can do with they had the resources and support.”

Image Supplied

Kahawaty shared that she was most impressed by a project called the ‘Time Bank Business’ in which people donate their time in return for goods and services being provided back.